When I took the photos for this post, I intended it to be completely focused on the beauty & skincare products. However, the Nyx palette was the summer birthday gift from Ulta and I pressed one of the shadows in the quad myself, so I realized there was absolutely no point in recommending beauty products that would be inaccessible to anyone who wanted to try them. So while I’ll recommend some products from the pictures, I’ve decided to redirect to an overall October post. After all, I can’t imagine anything more fitting than writing a blog post about October when it’s already 3 weeks into the month~

October is easily my favorite month of the year. Here in the Southeast it finally starts to cool down, the leaves change, we have our annual family camping trip in the Smokies, and it all around starts to feel like Fall. My mom has always gone hard when it comes to the holidays, so our family home this time of year is covered in decorations – most cozy, some creepy. My sisters and I marathon through seasonal movies; this year we’ve covered Scream 2, Corpse Bride, Hell House LLC, and Happy Death Day, to name a few.

This is the first year that I have been living in a space that I’ve been motivated to decorate myself, so I have my big jack-o-lantern set out and orange string lights around the front porch. My boyfriend’s dad grew a pumpkin patch this year, so I’ve had a surplus of the darling things in all different colors – the three pumpkins in this picture all came from his patch! I’ve been burning my pumpkiny-appley-cinnamony candles and slipping on my fuzzy socks (since I’m avoiding turning on the heat this early, even if it does dip into the 40s overnight) and everything just feels cheerful.

A couple of the beauty products that I’ve pulled out for the season (that you can still purchase) are the Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask and the Fresh Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating Balm. The PTR Pumpkin Mask smells like a dang pumpkin pie. I was almost teary-eyed when I tried it for the first time over the summer because it brought me that much joy, but I made myself put it away until the smell was appropriate for the season (because, yes, I’m a weirdo and care about these things). You can also try it in a mini size as part of a PTR mask sampler kit. It has been wonderful for my sensitive skin, but since I only allow myself to use it in the Fall, I will probably never purchase the full-size! For the lip balm – listen, I know. I’ve fussed and fussed about beauty products being packaged in jars, but lately I’ve realized it feels obnoxiously luxe to put lip balm on with a lip brush. It absolutely makes me feel like a brat in the best way. I’ve always loved (and highly recommend) and of the Fresh Sugar lip products, but this one is my current favorite because it’s not tinted and has the faintest sweet, warm, vanilla caramel scent.

Another fun buy at this time of year are various indie beauty companies’ seasonal perfumes! I’m partial to Fyrinnae because they create some of the most gorgeous eyeshadows on the planet, but there are plenty of indie options. Fyrinnae offers sample sizes, which are perfect for me (for eyeshadows and perfumes alike). This year I’ve tried Ghost Story, Snoqualmie Lodge, and Gilded Leaves – Gilded Leaves is my favorite of the three!

My subscription boxes have become slim these days – I’m only subscribed to four, currently, which may be a lot for some people, but not for where I was at this point last year! My only monthly box is Boxycharm, which is a $21 per month beauty box that sends out 5 or 6 full-sized products which could be makeup, tools like brushes, sponges, or lash curlers, skincare, and hair care (but it is always predominantly makeup). It’s surprising that I’ve dwindled down to only Boxycharm as my beauty subscription because ever since I started really getting into subscription boxes in May 2015, Boxycharm had always rubbed me the wrong way. People raved about it, but they seemed to send out junk I could find in the TJ Maxx makeup bins. However, I think Boxy has been improving tremendously over the past few months, and they released brand spoilers for the rest of the year (including Becca, Dr. Brandt, Mac, Tarte, etc.) that assures me that they have really stepped up their game in the world of beauty boxes.

As a small personal aside, please forgive my photos for this post; I’m still figuring out my new camera and my new house and determining where workable light will be where, so photos should improve soon!

The September 2017 box included:

Studio Makeup Luminous Loose Blush (RV $17) | There is no loose blush on the Studio Makeup site right now, so I’m linking to a pressed blush in a similar shade. Though I am not a fan of loose powders, I do like the matte peachy shade of this blush and it’s a unique add to me collection, so I’m happy to have it.

MAC Eyebrow Pencil in “Spiked” (RV $18) | The other shade offered this month was “Lingering”, which is a soft taupe shade. While I have never learned how to use an eyebrow pencil, I think it’s great that a full sized Mac product was included.

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask (RV $18) | I’ve received a truly exceptional amount of Briogeo thanks to subscription boxes. While I’ve bought some of their products on my own (I think their blow dry cream is exceptional), I’ve never needed to restock on the conditioning mask. I typically use this like standard conditioner due to how dry and damaged my hair is.

Colourpop Ultra Satin Liquid Lip in “Mess Around” (RV $6) | There were 5 or 6 different shades of the Colourpop Ultra Satins this month, and I love the one I received! The Colourpop site describes it as a midtone greige and Temptalia describes it as a neutral taupe, but on me (as you can see in the swatch above) it reads like a chocolate brown. It’s a great shade for Fall and the Colourpop Ultra Satins are one of my absolute favorite liquid lip formulas.

BareMinerals Perfecting Face Brush (RV $28) | I love getting makeup brushes in boxes, mostly because 1) I’m lazy and hate washing my brushes and 2) I don’t want to drop around $30 a brush because 3) due to point 1, I prefer to own tons of brushes. I haven’t tried this guy yet because I typically apply foundation with my fingers & a beautyblender, but I own quite a few BareMinerals brushes and have always liked them.

PUR Cosmetics Soiree Diaries Eyeshadow Palette (RV $34) | The star of the box, in my opinion! Look at that pretty marble packaging! The rose gold accents! Check out the swatches below. I think this is a great neutral palette – the bottom row is absolutely gorgeous and metallic and the mattes are buttery and not patchy at all. I only wish there was more of a difference between Private Party & Mogul and Snazzy & Epic, which seem too similar to be used to create unique eye looks.

As I have mentioned before, Boxycharm is really stepping up its game and is well worth the $21 a month. If you’re curious, check out the August Boxycharm featuring Tarte and some of my favorite fluffy makeup brushes.

I am trying out using affiliate links, which means that I may earn a tiny commission if you click on a link or make a purchase through a link posted here - thanks Mom! As usual, I will never, ever praise a product I don't actually believe in.